The Power of Two
by ginnypotterforever
Summary: Harry learns a secret within himself, along with his friend. Will the truth be discovered before it's too late?


"Harry! Harry! Come on! You're going to miss the train. HARRY!" screamed Hermione Granger from one of the windows of the Hogwarts Express, her bushy brown hair flying about her.

Sixteen-year-old Harry Potter ran to the train, his trolley in front of him, and yelled up at his know-it-all best friend, "I'm coming! I'm coming!" Harry heard the whistle blow just as he reached the train. He looked up at his other best friend, Ron Weasley, as the red haired boy came to the carriage door. "Help me with this?"

The two boys pulled, or pushed, in Harry's case, the trunk onto the train. Harry all but threw Hedwig's cage into the corridor of the train as it began to pull out of the station "Harry! Jump on. Hurry!" Ron shouted down to Harry as he lunged onto the train, knocking Ron to the ground and hitting his own knee on his trunk in the process. This made for quite the scene as the two detangled themselves from the luggage and got up off the floor. Hermione chose that moment to come out of the compartment to the right and roll her eyes at the two.

"Sorry," Harry said, after brushing himself off, pulling his trunk into the compartment and storing it on the rack.

"No problem, mate, just adds to the excitement of the new school year," Ron replied as he set Hedwig's cage next to Pig's.

"Harry, its fine, Ron's perfectly fine, everything is fine, now sit down and we can talk a bit." Hermione said subtly.

That was just what Harry was dreading. His first day back to Hogwarts for his sixth year, and his friends were already going to bug him about the incident at the Ministry of Magic. Harry sighed and took a seat across from where Ron and Hermione were sitting.

"So, uh, Harry, mate, how was your summer?" Ron said, trying to ease the uneasy silence that had engulfed the compartment.

"I'd rather not talk about it," was the only thing that Harry said in response.

"Harry we want to help you, but we cant do that if you don't tell us what's going on." Hermione said, a note of concern in her voice.

"HELP ME? YOU WANT TO… HELP… ME! YOU COULD'VE HELPED ME BY STAYING AWAY FROM THE MINISTRY!" Harry screamed, his anger, which had been on the surface all summer, finally coming out. "YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO INSIST ON COMING! YOU COULD HAVE STAYED BACK WITH THE OTHERS! YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT IF I LET YOU COME WITH ME, THE OTHERS WOULD WANT TO COME, TOO! I NEARLY GOT YOU LOT KILLED! I DID GET SIRIUS KILLED. ME. WHY? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO COME WITH ME? THAT WASN'T A HELP, NOT AT ALL. WHAT WOULD'VE HELPED IS IF YOU ACTUALLY TOLD ME SOMETHING ONCE AND A WHILE. I KNOW THAT BOTH OF YOU WERE AT GRIMMAULD PLACE THIS PAST SUMMER, YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THE ORDER, WITH VOLDEMORT, NOT KEPT ME IN THE DARK. IF YOU'D LIKE TO HELP, THEN STAY AWAY…from me," the last words came out in a whisper. Tears began to stream down Harry's face and he turned away from his two best friends, and he continued, almost desperately. "Just stay away from me. PLEASE!"

"Harry –," Hermione started.

"JUST GET AWAY FROM ME! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Harry screamed.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" A voice screamed from just outside the compartment door. Harry cringed and looked towards the door. "HARRY… JAMES… POTTER! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"

Suddenly, the compartment door flew open, revealing a very pissed off Ginny Weasley. "Harry… James… POTTER!" screamed the fiery red head. She wrenched him out of his seat and turned him to face her, her finger pointed accusingly at him. "HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE YOURSELF OF THIS! WE CHOSE TO COME WITH YOU TO THE MINISTRY! DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT WE WOULD HAVE LET YOU GO BY YOURSELF TO FIGHT VOLDEMORT!"

"G-G- Ginny?" Hermione asked timidly.

"WHAT!" Ginny screamed, angry that she had been interrupted from her yelling match with Harry.

"Since when do you say his name?"

"Whose name?"

"_You-Know-Who's _name."

"Uh, later. I'll tell you later," Ginny dismissed it and turned back to Harry, poking him in the chest with her index finger. "HARRY JAMES POTTER! HOW DARE YOU"…poke…"SECLUDE YOURSELF! YOU"…poke…"SAY THAT YOU WERE NEVER OWLED WITH NEWS OF THE ORDER! YOU"…poke…"COULD HAVE COME TO GRIMMAULD PLACE! WE INVITED YOU"…poke…"FOR MERLIN'S SAKE! WE – " Ginny was cut off by an even louder Harry.

"DO YOU THINK I WOULD REALLY WANT TO COME TO THAT HOUSE? THAT'S WHERE MY GODFATHER LIVED! HE LIVED IN THAT HOUSE! HE WAS THERE… TRAPPED, TRAPPED LIKE A DOG! THEY TREATED HIM LIKE HIS ANIMAGUS FORM!" Unseen by the fiery redheaded girl and the quick-tempered raven-haired boy, Ron and Hermione snuck out of the compartment, not wanting to be in the middle of it all. "HE WAS AN ANIMAL TO THEM! THEY TREATED HIM LIKE HE DIDN'T OWN THE HOUSE! THEY SHOULD ALL BE GRATEFUL HE DIDN'T THROW THEM OUT!" Harry screamed at her, trying to hold back the tears forming in his eyes.

"HE KNEW HE WOULD BE STUCK INSIDE AND BE KEPT AWAY FROM THE WORLD WHEN PETTIGREW GOT AWAY! HE KNEW HOW HE WOULD BE KEPT OUT OF SIGHT! HE HATED THAT HOUSE, YET HE DECIDED TO LIVE IN IT! THE ORDER WAS KEEPING HIM ALIVE! HE HAD PEOPLE TO TALK TO WITH THEM IN HIS HOUSE! HE WAS ACTUALLY HAPPY FOR A WHILE! HIS LIFE WAS LOVING THE PEOPLE HE CARED ABOUT! HIS LIFE WAS YOU"…poke…"HARRY! AND YOU"…poke…"SAY HE WAS TREATED LIKE A DOG! YOU"…poke…"KEPT HIS SPIRITS UP! YOU"…poke…"WEREN'T THERE FOR A WHILE, WE KNOW, BUT YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN HIM! HE WAS ALWAYS ASKING FOR THEM TO GO GET YOU! AND WHEN THE DEMENTORS ATTACKED YOU AND YOUR COUSIN, HE WOULDN'T GIVE UP ON GETTING YOU OUT OF THAT HOUSE! HE LOVED YOU, HARRY, AND BY MOURNING THIS WAY, YOU"…poke…"ARE SHOWING HIM DISRESPECT!" tears were now falling down her cheeks, but flames shone in her eyes, steam was coming off her body, and her hair was flying wildly about her in an nonexistent wind.

"I – I'm sorry," Harry replied sheepishly.

"Harry James Potter, you better realize that what you're doing is hurting not only you, but everyone around. Get out of your guilt, sadness, misery, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT and honor Sirius' memory like he would have wanted you to." And with that, Ginevra Molly Weasley stormed out of the compartment.

"Whoa, mate, you got her in a storming red rage. I could feel the power radiating off of her. No one's gotten her that angry in a long time," Ron said as he entered the compartment with Hermione. Harry, who had not even noticed that they had left, was staring at the spot that the red head had left, shock clear on his face. Ron and Hermione shared a look, hoping that Ginny had been all that he needed to get back in line.

"Harry, are you all right now?" Hermione hesitantly asked.

"Yeah, I think I am," Harry replied as he sat back down a smile tugging at his lips.

"Well, glad that's over. You should have seen the corridor, heads sticking out from just about every compartment. " Ron said, laughing at the memory. Harry bowed his head slightly, a blush making its way up his neck and face.

"Well, now that we're all a happy family again, let's talk about the O.W.L.s," Hermione suggested, making a swift subject change skillfully, causing Ron and Harry groan.

"I got an "O" in everything," started off Hermione. "How about you Ron?"

"I got an "O" in DADA, Transfiguration, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures and somehow I managed to pull it off in Potions as well. I got an "E" in Astronomy and Herbology. And I got an "A" in Divination. How about you, Harry?" Ron's voice was full of pride as he puffed out his chest.

"I got "O's" in everything but Astronomy and Divination. For Astronomy I got an "E," and for Divination, an "A". I did fail my History of Magic though, I got a "T"."

"Damn, I forgot about that, I got a "T" in there as well." Ron's chest fell slightly and he looked a little glum.

"We all passed everything, well, not History of Magic for you two, but that's alright and maybe not with flying colors, but we all passed!" Hermione exclaimed.

The trio then began to talk about other things like Quidditch, only to be interpreted by the food trolley, and Hermione's obsession with reading, to which she responded with, "Reading is a way to get away from you two mental boys."

"Well, you must have thought we weren't that mental today, Hermione, because we're getting close to Hogsmeade and you haven't even put your nose in a book yet," Harry pointed out, causing Ron to laugh, and even a smile to form on Hermione's face.


End file.
